2016 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside
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Tasting notes
100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very deep garnet (not a trace of blue or purple). Very interesting mineral, almost stony, notes on the nose. Then on the palate there is something highly floral and aromatic – lavender? – and a bit of mint. Plus the sweetness of ripe Napa Valley fruit but not ridiculously overdone. Lots of pleasure here and with some refreshment and still some fine tannin in evidence. (JR)
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Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Crushed dark fruit with licorice and black olives on the nose. Full-bodied and very lush yet reserved and melted in the palate. Fine tannins. Spreads out across the palate in a subtle way. Drink after 2020.
From the upper terraces of the Tierra Roja Vineyard, which always ripens earlier, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside also includes 5% Cabernet Franc sourced from the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville. This beauty has a more perfumed, classic style that carries ample crème de cassis, graphite, violets, leafy herbs, tobacco, and some savory, herbal, forest floor notes. Medium to full-bodied, silky, pure, and elegant, it’s another seamless wine from this team.
Drive the Oakville Cross Road to the Silverado Trail, then look directly forward and up and you see Tierra Roja, a small four-acre jewel of a hillside vineyard. The vineyard is dotted with big rocks, and the soil is roja (very red). This wine comes from the upper steep terraces of the vineyard, directly below Dalla Valle. Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside features red, black and blue fruits with floral and earthy nuances plus pencil shavings and a meaty/savory undercurrent. The palate is full-bodied, firm, grainy and lively with loads of earth and mineral layers. 447 cases produced.